apocev

[apocev]

‘I hear colors’

If you take a look at Neil Harbisson you probably won’t see anything extraordinary about him, except this antenna hanging from the back of his head, which is implanted in his skull. Neil is a 34 year old artist and cyborg activist, who was diagnosed with achromatopsia, or total color blindness. Optical sensor on the tip of the antenna together with microchip implanted in Harbisson’s skull recognize various colors by converting their frequencies to vibrations which are then converted to audio frequencies. At this point, Neil Harbisson’s skull proceeds as his third ear. 

Now, despite some problems and disagreements made by professionals he had to face, he is being described as the world’s first cyborg, or the world’s first first cyborg artist, and is officially recognized as a cyborg by a government. 

[apocev]

So, for example, does the super soldier serum activates certain parts of your brain to act so unnatural, or is it giving you abilities? 

And also, if we only use 10 percent out of 100, would we be where we are now?

[apocev]

Power in the limbs. Short experiment 

Since the extreme, usually destructive, power concentrated in super soldier’s limbs is the feature I’m currently making researching about, I performed an experiment to try to imagine how it feels ruining things without being hurt and feeling anything. 

These knifes attached to my hand symbolizes the strength and resistance of future human’s body. As I already said before - his flesh is as solid as metal. 

Though I didn’t get proper results of ruining things, especially those I, as a ‘normal’ human being couldn’t actually destroy, I actually tried to imagine these knives as a part of my body, since they were attached to my hand so tight that it felt like both the tools and my limb grow together. 

[apocev]

Superhumans (super soldiers, half humas, cyborgs) in movies

Since film is my main inspiration...

They are all different but have something in common - super powers that regular humans cannot develop naturally. 

It is both gift and misfortune being one or even more levels up than anybody else around you. You are greater, you have a deeper understanding of things and perceptions, you have a wide range of your physical and often mental abilities, your whole existence denies physical laws. You are power. You control, dominate, destroy things, you resist, or you are down and then recover. And for some of these heroes it suppresses the joy of understanding and learning, loving, feeling passion. Because the fragility of human existence is what fuels lust for life and makes people setting their goals, so their life would have a meaning. 

But these heroes barely have time to think about it, since they are too busy fighting, running, destroying, making everybody scared of them. They all have a reason for their unusual nature. Saitama (above) is the only hero who almost doesn’t have any reason why he is so strong that he could punch every scary (and often funny looking) mutant villain creature to death. Only one punch. His secret is, as he says, 100 squats, 100 sit-ups and 100 push-ups. It is so true that it is already sad and not funny for young Saitama. That’s what makes the 2015 cartoon ‘One Punch Man’ a parody of all these other superman-like cartoons about handsome heroes who are often being presented like ‘pussy magnets.’ 

Other heroes from the moodboard, like Carrie and Eleven from ‘Stranger Things’, together with Lucy perform their unusual abilities using telekinesis, or psychokinesis. Not sure if this is my favorite thing, since it is very popular in many various movies, books, games, etc. It’s because many of characters sharing this ability doesn’t have anything else what makes them so ‘not like humans.’

Now, the real super soldiers, as seen in ‘The X-Files’ are my favorite. I’ve seen them being unsuccessfully hurt, seen them being able to wipe anything in their way, and harsh end of their existence, but I’ve never seen them loving, shy, scared, or happy.

[apocev]

Where humanity ends, or what is it like being half robot in a human shell

The type of superhumans I decided to do the project about are the ones who become super strong surgical - using special serums, injections or by gene engineering. They don’t need any additional exoskeleton to be that strong. They just are. Basically, their flesh is like metal - super resistant and solid. For example, their hands may be like guillotine - able to cut and slice everything, including metal, just by moving their arm in a horizontal position. 

Also, super soldiers don’t supposedly require any sleep and rest. Their endurance is supernatural which means they are bulletproof and they can survive explosions and other catastrophic events. In a popular literature and movies, such type of super heroes can only be killed by one way - by setting them on fire, cutting their head, exposing them to some material or substance found on Earth. Super soldiers might be able to breath underwater, run super fast or have their hearing and smell exceeded, their psychic abilities can be also highly improved. Modified humans don’t have any of these feelings that make us humans - fear, lust and hate, which is, actually, often being shifted into revenge, because, well, somebody or something must have done bad things to you that made you decide to become one of the ‘soldiers.’ You would look like regular everyday normal person despite that your moves may seem sharp, firm and pre-planned, just like in ‘Sims.’ Your sight is empty and senseless. In this world people would definitely have trust issues, because, in order to realize that somebody they know isn’t mortal in a way that we understand, something bad needs to happen. And it’s because super soldiers are more evil and dystopian creatures, that can be manipulated and used as tool to destroy and kill. But they can also be super heroes who don’t need to wear bright capes and paint their face like the ones we saw in comic books.

What’s of it?

The possibilities are endless - it depends on how far science and technology will go. Whole Earth population won’t consist of super soldiers only. As I imagine, this main task of this superhuman project is to exceed normal human abilities by modifying their physiology, and the goal is to use them for a future missions to Space and other various science and technology experiments in order to progress. Or regress. 

Super soldier is like an utopian human. Since we can’t naturally evolve into super intelligent entities, we have science which can help us achieve this. But wherever there’s utopia, dystopia occurs. As I read in one article - what if, by doing such experiments with human DNA, scientists will open Pandora’s box and nobody would be able to control the consequences brought by super soldier program? 

[apocev]

'End of the world’ sounds catastrophic to me. I imagine the world being destroyed by external force - extraterrestrial beings, or man made creatures, a piles of solid metal which means the end of it all is self induced. 

After the destruction complete silence occurs, a muffled ambient sound, the sound of nothing which slowly becames a background for another muffled sound of debris popping. 

The sound was made by recording sounds of everyday appliances and edited using Audacity.

[apocev]

SOUND WORKSHOP WITH VLADAS DIENINIS / VISUALISATION

[apocev]

Interview task

Ugne Jankauskaite is a 20 year old ballet dancer at Olga Konošenko ballet studio. I asked her a few questions about her choice being a dancer, and how she sees a future of a classic ballet. 

Interview is in Lithuanian. 

Kiek laiko šoki baletą? 4 metus.

Ar baletas šiuo metu tavo pagrindinis užsiėmimas, ar dar ir studijuoji? Pagrindinis.

Kaip atrodo tavo, kaip baleto šokėjos, kasdienybė? Atsikėlus ryte minimaliai pasimankštinu, jei per pietus turiu laiko, tai rimčiau pasitampau, padarau elementarų apšilimą prie lazdos, tada vakare jau paaukoju tam 1-2 valandas - priklauso nuo savijautos. O šiaip, kad ir ką daryčiau, nejučia pradedu pėdas mankštint, užsikeliu koją, stiprinu klubo raumenis tam tikrais pratimais, atsistoju į pirmą arba antrą poziciją, tik vėliau pagalvoju, kad turbūt kvailai atrodžiau (šypsosi). Prieš varžybas būna labai daug generalinių ir paprastų treniruočių, po 2 į dieną kelis kartus per savaitę, tuo pačiu dar eini ir į kasdienes treniruotes, nes nesinori praleisti kažko. 

Tavo manymu, baletas labiau sportinis, techninis užsiėmimas ar meninis? Visas viename. Negalėčiau išskirti, nes tai reikalauja labai geros formos, tikslios technikos (turi puikiai suprasti, kaip koks judesys yra atliekamas, jei nors viena detalė yra sušokta netinkamai, tuomet greičiausiai kristum ir liktum sėdėti ant žemės, taip pat atsirastų traumų pavojus).

Kokią įtaką baletas turėjo tavo asmenybės formavimuisi? Turėjo didžiulę įtaką. Jis pakeitė mano požiūrį ne tik į šokį, bet ir į gyvenimą. Supratau, kad viskas ne taip lengvai pasiekiama , net jei ir stengiesi iš visų jėgų, ne visiems pasiseka. Pradėjau labai daug iš savęs reikalauti - tobulumo siekimas visose srityse (žinoma, ypač šokyje), didelis dėmesys kūno formoms. Apibendrinus viską, turėjo labiau neigiamą įtaką, tačiau nebuvau dar laimingesnė, nė už ką to neatsisakyčiau.

Kas yra sunkiausia būnant šokėja? Sunkiausia atlaikyti spaudimą, nerimą, iš tavęs yra daug reikalaujama, ir klaidos ne visiems yra priimtinos. Fizinis krūvis irgi prisideda. Vakare vos eiti gali, o ryte net pajudėt skauda, bet čia yra kova su savimi, visada galime daugiau padaryti, kad ir kaip sunku būtų. 

Ar sieji savo ateitį su baletu? Tikrai taip. Kitur savęs neįsivaizduoju ir žinau, kad man čia vieta. 

Kaip įsivaizduoji baleto ateitį Lietuvoje? Manau, Lietuvoje baletas kaip buvo, taip ir lik nuošalyje. Mažuma yra juo susidomėję. Būna ir tokių, kurie smerkia. Gaila, kad mūsų šalyje yra atsiradęs toks paviršutiniškas mąstymas.

Kadangi gyvename skaitmenizuotame ir individualistiniame amžiuje, esame įpratę visko mokytis internetu - piešti, dainuoti, sportuoti, netgi šokti. Ar manai, jog ateityje baleto, ar bent jau jo pradmenų bus paprasta išmokti tiesiog žiūrint vaizdo įrašus nebereikės tam skirtų mokyklų? Vaizdo įrašais nieko neišmoksi. Turi turėti mokytoją, daug erdvės ir veidrodžius. Svarbiausia yra praktika ir klaidų analizavimas su profesionalu. Tik taip bus jaučiamas ir matomas progresas. Žiūrint vaizdo įrašus gali atrodyti, kad tai yra labai paprasta, tačiau nežinant tam tikro judesio taisyklių nieko neišeis. 

Ar manai, jog dėl šios priežasties padaugės baleto savamokslių tiek, jog šis šokis paprasčiausiai praras savo unikalumą ir savitumą? To tikrai nebus, nes, kaip ir sakiau, išmokti tokiu būdu yra tiesiog neįmanoma. Didesnė tikimybė yra gauti traumą nei išmokti. Jo savitumas ir unikalumas visada išliks. Tikri šokėjai, kurie tikrai myli tai, ką daro, tik ir stengiasi jį [šokį] išsaugoti, todėl, jei atsirastų keli tokie savamoksliai/mėgėjai, jie nieko nepakeistų. Mano manymu, tokių būtų tik vienetai. 

[apocev]

A genre-punk dictionary

Cyberpunk - Neon lights, mechanical body-horror, lots and lots of electronic junk lying around, tightly confined city slums, flying cars, androids, and last but not least, lots of grungy browns and grays. Bladerunner, Judge Dredd, Bubblegum Crisis etc.

Dieselpunk - Similar to cyberpunk, but less about electronics and androids and more about internal combustion and industrial robots. Technology is less ubiquitous in this setting but when you see techology, it will be combustion powered in some way… or at least look like it should be. Expect grease stains and bits of sludge on everything. Final Fantasy VII (the original game only) is a prime example.

Laserpunk - The Anti-Cyberpunk. Spotless with a lot of legroom. Expect glowing lines, fancy grooves, bright white glossy walls, and some shiny blues on everything. Everything in this setting has something that glows, even when it doesn’t need it. These are your Xenosaga’s, iRobot’s, Star Ocean’s.

Garbagepunk - The kludgey cousin of steampunk. Everything in this setting, and I mean EVERY SINGLE THING, is made of trash. Goggles made of bottles, water filtration made of old oil drums and used coffee filters, etc. Mad Max, Deponia, Water World, etc.

Steampunk - Steam power, leatherbound handles, brass fittings, lots of circles and rivets. I shouldn’t have to really clarify this one.

Clockpunk - Steampunk but with clockworks instead of steam engines. Its a small difference, listed only for the reason that steampunk requires steam and clockpunk doesn’t always have it. Expect gears, cogs, wheels and springs.

Codepunk - This one is difficult to pin down. Its less about the aesthetic and more about the concepts. This is a setting where everything that happens is related in some way to programming… Where the laws of physics are just functions being run with parameters, alterable by anyone with knowledge of how to access them. This is a setting where people do battle by compiling text that subtracts a number from the other person’s vital statistics variables, but that is what the world is actually made of, not just a game abstraction. Codepunk is characterized by parts of the world actually breaking down visibly into raw text. .hack//, Fate／Extra, the parts of the Matrix series we don’t get to watch where someone is actually typing on a keyboard to make things actually happen…( not that Neo-Morpheus crap. )

Naturepunk - What happens when you invent modern or even futuristic technology without actually using any technology. Reclining armchairs made of sticks and moss. Aeroplane’s made of palm fronds and vines. If cavemen invented space travel. Everything is made of locally sourced natural components, but the level of technological advancement and sophistication isn’t necessarily diminished because of it. You might have all the classic weapons of war, guns and grenades and such, but made of curious growths. Mushrooms with highly flammable spores for example, instead of a grenade. While not the only example, the best I can actually think of is… The Flintstones. You might also consider many depictions of Atlantis under this category.

Biopunk - Naturepunk’s heavy metal big sister. Everything is made of bone, meat, blood and teeth. Everything is either alive, or was alive at one time. Technology is either made of raw carcasses, or is actually some creature bred or engineered specifically to be used in the way a machine would. Don’t expect to see much inorganic material in generally anything. eXistenZ, generally anything that takes place inside another organism.

[apocev]

MOODBOARD / HUMANS AS SUPER SOLDIERS

Sound of a dystopian future that reminds me of old cyberpunk anime movies 

[apocev]

[apocev]

SEMINAR VISUALISATION / A PRESENTATION ABOUT JANET CARDIFF AND GEORGE BURES MILLER

Artist -> structure of their work (what inspires it; consists of).

To me, visualising things I hear is impossible without putting down little notes.

[apocev]

SEMINAR / VILNIUS UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

I finally stepped into environment with many machines, devices and tubes with mysterious liquids  where scientists work and do experiments. It’s like their second home. To me, the place is very sterile and private, it’s like other world where biological basis of life, molecules and cells, are being emerged, joint, cloned and otherwise modificated. 

Before entering laboratory I expected to smell many unknown liquids and substances but I actually smelled NOTHING. In casual situations you often think you don’t smell anything specific when you actually do - it’s just that you are used to them and they no longer surprise you. But the labs didn’t have any smell at all, except freshness and... vitality? The place was so clean and tidy that I even felt too dirty to walk there and touch things, even the smell of my perfume seemed to be intruding. 

VISUALISATION OF THE SEMINAR

Layout of of the institute building reminded me of human organism by itself. As our bodies have different layers, or tissues, the building has different floors for different purposes. Ground floor is entrance with lounge zones and many people walking around - public layer visible to anyone; then goes second floor with less movement; and finally - third floor, our destination, where all reactions, experiments with DNA and cells happen - analogic to those happening inside us. 

[apocev]

Super soldiers on Mars?

I was going through my National Geographic magazines seeking for inspiration for my project, and then I remembered about an article I really liked - it’s  about human mission to Mars. 

Then I started contemplating.

Development of interplanetary space travelling might finally be in the process, but there's another thing why future expeditions to Mars are still in question.

There’re already many enthusiasts around the world who would paid billions and wait for decades to finally step onto solid red surface of humankind's next dream destination - Mars.

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, after he landed on Earth after 340 days spent in the space station on March 2016, suggested separating these enthusiasts who are passionated about the idea of reaching Mars (without the possibility to get back home) by placing them into one of those stations for at least one year. The thing is, travellers to Mars must be extremely tough emotionally and physically to survive isolation from your real home, Earth, and unfriendly space conditions.

Since I'm personally fascinated by the concept of 'super soldiers', artificial intelligence, hyperreality and other sci-fi stuff, I thought - what if humans, once injected by, still speculative, genetically modified 'virus', or serum that gives you all your 'super soldier' powers and features, could be the first soldiers to march onto Mars? Since 'regular' human’s organis is very fragile when it comes to long years spent in the space, transhuman super soldiers would be extremely resistless and capable of superhuman actions. They are augmented through eugenics, genetic engineering, cybernetic implants, extreme training regimen or even drugs and brainwashing. Sometimes they are even categorized as cyborgs because of augmentations that are intended to enhance human capabilities or to exceed physical human restrictions.

Trip to Mars would have highly negative impact on human's body and psyche. Living in a condition of weightlessness, your lungs would get weak, and your face would be swollen since the absence of excretion in your body. No gravity would make your bones fragile and thin, your vision will fade, and you'd end up with intracranial pressure when the fluids in your brain start pressing your eyes. What is also terrifying, is that exposure to cosmic radiaton can damage DNA and brain cells so astronauts would reach Mars already being less intelligent.

‘The X-Files’ was primal source of my knowledge about super soldiers. In this still from the show, one of them, Knowle Rohrer, is being destructed by the exposure to large amounts of magnetite, iron compound. In real practice, this might be a difficulty when sending super soldiers to Mars since there’s much iron found in planet’s atmosphere and surface, unless they aren’t completely analogical to the ones from the ‘Files’. 

However, super soldiers may not be the most reliable Mars explorers since they're pseudoscientific creations, or half artifficially intelligent beings who can be easily manipulated by various corporations and other secret groups to satisfy their secret selfish and wicked interests or to destabilize situation around the world. 'Super soldier' programme may have long lasting consequences by itself. Even a tiny mistake might even end up in a catastrophe or self-destruction. That's why it's still a hypothetical thing, more dytopian rather than utopian.

Simulation of super soldiers on Mars.* Exoskeletons might replace heavy space suits and also provide soldiers with applications, such as decreased fatigue  and increased productivity.

What I want to say, colonization of Mars wouldn't happen quick if we had 'super soldiers'. It would actually last twice longer for scientists to fully develop both space tourism technologies and controversial 'super soldier' programme which is, well, still speculative. Mars expedition might be more profitable because of the superhuman abilities that these creatures are capable of, and would have a great impact to science and might even change our perception of the whole world.

Based on information from National Geographic and educational websites. *Pictures of exoskeletons taken from kollected.com. 

[apocev]

RESPONSE TO FOLLOWING/OBSERVING WORKSHOP

Self portrait is basically inspired by information I gathered during ‘following Dainida’ workshop. I logged as many details about her as possible, and I was observing her from not that small distance trying not to expose myself which made me feel like a spy who notices every step and every breathe the person takes. 

I put my self portrait and two cropped pictures from wide web into one collage that tells about me being confident and maybe even suspicious in the context of observing and following people.